Existentia Africana: Understanding Africana Existential Thought (Africana Thought) (Hardcover)

by Lewis R. Gordon (Author) "The intellectual history of the last quarter of the twentieth century has been marked by, among many developments, a growing influence of Africana thought in..." (more)
Key Phrases: African American, White Masks, Frantz Fanon (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
'What does it mean to be a problem?' In the innovative essays of Existentia Africana, Lewis Gordon returns to the exploration both of W.E.B. Dubois' question, as well as of the emancipatory tradition of Black existential thought....It is an immense and profoundly original undertaking.
–Sylvia Wynter, author of Do Not Call Us Negroes: How Multicultural Textbooks Perpetuate Racism and Professor Emerita, Stanford University

Gordon once again brings his mastery of existentialist writers such as Frantz Fanon and Sartre to bear on issues confronting black intellectuals..
–M. Stewart, Austin College

In Existentia Africana, Lewis Gordon is once again at his philosophical best. Continuing from where he left off in Existence in Black, Gordon develops Africana philosophy and critical race theory to a higher level of sophistication and originality that will certainly make him a forceful voice of the next millennium. Indeed, a much needed and truly liberating contribution.
–Mabogo P. More, University of Durban-Westville, South Africa

Strongly recommended for all library collections....
–Choice

This study gives Africana existential philosophy perhaps its most exhaustive analysis... The author discerns a dominant and pervasive race consciousness in Africana existential thought... Gordon has made a definitive statement of the wealth, validity, and historicity of Africana existential thought.
–Tunde Adeleke, University of Montana

What does it mean to be a problem? In the innovative essays of Existentia Africana, Lewis Gordon returns to the exploration both of W.E.B. Dubois question, as well as of the emancipatory tradition of Black existential thought....It is an immense and profoundly original undertaking.
–Sylvia Wynter, author of Do Not Call Us Negroes: How Multicultural Textbooks Perpetuate Racism and Professor Emerita, Stanford University

Product Description
The intellectual history of the last quarter of this century has been marked by the growing influence of Africana thought--an area of philosophy that focuses on issues raised by the struggle over ideas in African cultures and their hybrid forms in Europe, the Americas, and the Caribbean. Existentia Africana is an engaging and highly readable introduction to the field of Africana philosophy and will help to define this rapidly growing field. Lewis R. Gordon clearly explains Africana existential thought to a general audience, covering a wide range of both classic and contemporary thinkers--from Douglass and DuBois to Fanon, Davis and Zack.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (April 11, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415926432
• ISBN-13: 978-0415926430
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,239,084 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Political Philosophy and the question of black existence, June 23, 2000

By	Neil Roberts (Kingston, Jamaica) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Existentia Africana: Understanding Africana Existential Thought (Africana Thought) (Paperback)

Sylvia Wynter has said that it is the challenge of the writer to create new "forms of life." Lewis R. Gordon has done just that with "Existentia Africana." With chapters such as "Can Men Worship?", "'What Does It Mean to be a Problem'?", and one of the most moving sections, "Writing: Words and Incantation", Gordon pours out his soul in trying to explain to the reader why in the year 2000 black people in Africa and the African Diaspora are still regarded as problem people. The author is a writer, philosopher par excellance, a jazz musician, a product of both Jamaica and black America, the academy and the realm of grassroots political activity. Discussing persons such as Frantz Fanon to Angela Davis to Jean-Paul Sartre to W.E.B.Du Bois to Naomi Zack to Josiah Young to Abbey Lincoln and to others, Gordon's words and incantation force the reader to confront the meaning of black existence from Jamaica to the United States to the UK to Africa to aboriginal Australia. Gordon differentiates between the European movement of thought "Existentialism", versus what he terms a "Philosophy of Existence/Existential Philosophy." A Philosophy of Existence addresses issues of freedom, anguish, dread, and responsibility in a way that does not limit discourse to European thought and thikers such as Sartre, Heidegger, Jaspers, and Simone de Beauvoir. Dear reader, please read on if you are willing to confront these serious and pressing issues of our times.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Scholarship as its best..., July 4, 2000

By	"moredean" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

If you are at the least familiar with Prof. Gordon's work, then you should need no prompting in purchasing this text. If not, then I wholeheartedly recommened "Existentia Africana" for anyone with an interest in race theorizing along existential lines. Gordon draws influences from such existential theorists as Frantz Fanon, W.E.B. DuBois, Jean-Paul Sartre, and bell hooks to paint a very coherent and useful picture of modern Africana existential thought. Buy it, and read it, you won't be dissappointed.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Invaluable Addition to Aficana Philosophy, May 16, 2000

By	M. PARADISO-MICHAU (Columbus, OH (USA)) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Existentia Africana: Understanding Africana Existential Thought (Africana Thought) (Paperback)

Professor Lewis R. Gordon (Temple University) has outdone himself in this groundbreaking introduction to Africana existential thought! In addition to a breakthrough in Africana studies, Fanonian and DuBoisian students and scholars alike will appreciate the fruit of Gordon's labor. I would highly recommend anything written by Gordon; his style and method are very endearing to the reader.